Ontmoeting tussen Cecilia en Mortimer na de zelfmoord van Mr. Harrels

About this artwork

Vervaardigd voor een bewerking van Frances Burney's 'Cecilia', genaamd 'Cecilia oder die Geschichte einer reichen Waise'. Latere staat van deze prent gebruikt in: Königl. Grosbritannischer Historischer Genealogischer Calender für 1789, mit Kupfern von Chodowiecki. Lauenburg: J. G. Berenberg, 1788.

Art Historical Context

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowie's etching *Ontmoeting tussen Cecilia Mortimer na de zelfmo van Mr. Harrels (Meeting between Cecilia and Mortimer after the Suicide Mr. Harrels), in 1787, a poignant moment from Frances Burney's 1782 novel *Cec*. This small-scale work (114mm × 65mm) illustrates the emotional encounter between the orphaned heiress Cecilia and Mortimer following the tragic suicide of Mr. Harrels, a character entangled in financial ruin. Chodowie, a master engraver and director of the Berlin Academy of Arts, was renowned for his intricate book illustrations that brought Enlightenment-era literature to life with moral depth and social commentary. Produced for the German adaptation *Cecilia oder die Geschichte einer reichen Waise*, this etching exemplifies the booming 18th-century market for affordable, reproducible prints that made novels accessible to a wide audience. A later state appeared in the 1789 *Königl. Grosbritannischer Historischer Genealogischer Calender*, published in Lauenburg by J.G. Berenberg, highlighting its versatility in educational and historical publications. As an etching, the technique allowed Chodowiecki to achieve fine lines and expressive shading on a copper plate, ideal for intimate narrative scenes. This artwork reflects the cultural fervor for sentimental fiction and the role of visual arts in popularizing British literature across Europe, offering visitors a window into 18th-century storytelling and print culture.

About the Artist

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki · 1726–1801

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki (1726–1801) was a German painter and printmaker of Polish-Huguenot descent who became the most celebrated graphic artist in 18th-century Germany. Born in Danzig (now Gdańsk), he created approximately 2,000 etchings that serve as an invaluable visual record of German bourgeois life during the Enlightenment. Largely self-taught, Chodowiecki moved to Berlin in 1743 and ach...